Wabash Station

Time in Transit

Spear’s four-painting series frames the clock just above the original ticket windows in the lobby of the Wabash Station and uses time as a theme, documenting the past and present uses of the station. Spear used live models for all of the figures, including Herbert Crum, a longtime employee of the bus service who is depicted as the conductor; fellow artist Don Asbee, who created the Wabash 808 sculpture just outside of the station; and family members. Spear painted himself as the ghostlike figure fading from the station lobby to emphasize how quickly the present becomes the past. The paintings, and Asbee’s exterior sculpture, were commissioned as part of the city’s Percent for Art program. *local artist

Wabash 808

Asbee was impacted by the history of
the Wabash Station as began his design process. The
resulting sculpture depicts a train as it would have
been seen from the platform of the old depot and bears
the number of an actual locomotive that serviced the
Wabash Station. The number, 808, was selected so to read
from either side of the work, as bus riders come or go.
The building receives more than one million people
annually, making it an ideal location for this Percent
for Art project and the paintings by David Spear that
are featured in the interior of the building. *local artist